Onslow

The main reason for Exmouth' existence is the Harold Holt Navy Base. However, this base used to be American soil when it was established. The Yanks put in a lot of infrastructure including ten pin bowling, drive-in movies and burger bar. Back then, all traffic on the base was driving on the right hand side. The primary purpose of the base was to run communication with submarines in the Indian Ocean.

It all changed with 9-11, the US evacuated all personal out of the base into Exmouth the day after the terror attack as they considered the base unsafe. They started to bulldoze the base but some way through the project the Australian Government stopped them and took over the base which is now run under contract by Boeing and guarded by the Australian Federal Police.

The Navy is gone and the tourists are only seasonal so Exmouth is currently negotiating with some large Oil/Gas producers to become a base for their operations.

We were driving out of Exmouth by 8am, heading South for 80km before we turned East for another 80km to get back onto #1 Hwy to continue our journey North. We left the Gascoyne region and entered the Pilbara, a region best known for its mineral resources.

The landscape in the Pilbara is very different with hills rising steep out of the ground and undulating landscape dotted with green bushes and trees growing out of the deep red soil. The change from the flat Gascoyne region to the hilly Pilbara is very noticeable. Another reminder that we are in higher rainfall country are the creeks and rivers, some even with above ground water.

A bit further up the road we left #1 Hwy and turned left for the 80km track to Onslow. After travelling around 400km we reached Onlsow by lunchtime and got a spot at the Ocean View Caravan Park. Onslow is a sleepy and quiet little town with a population of around 800 mainly living of the local salt mine which evaporates water and harvests the reaming sea salt.

Onslow is well known for fishing with the most popular spot being the Montebello Islands around 75Nm off shore. We went for a quick trip around the area to check all the fishing spots before heading out for a bit of fishing later in evening. However, no take home fish, only a few small and as yet unidentified fish.

We have to be a little careful up here as we are now in crocodile territory and we don't want to end up as croc bait ourselves. There are crocodile warnings everywhere and the locals have confirmed that numerous crocs live in the area. In summer time the cross can be seen travelling up and down just in front of the beach.

This area also gets hit by cyclones which is evident from the low buildings and a very different architecture to that found further South.

Onslow's big claim to fame is that it is the only town in Australia with a sunrise and a sunset beach. The salt mine has a very long jetty with a conveyor belt transporting salt to the end of the jetty where bulk loaders are filled up.

Although we had 26DegC today the local are all talking about how cold it is.

Here is a link to todays travel map.

Resting in Exmouth

After a few very busy days we enjoyed our well earned rest day today. We started late with a Sunday style breakfast of Bacon, Eggs and Baked Beans on toast. The day was well suited to resting as the weather was overcast and we had a few showers during the morning.

The kids made good use of the available time and finished most of their school work just in time for the term break starting next week. I spent a bit of time on the computer catching up with emails and work. Ilse did some shopping in the afternoon and we gave the car a bit of a clean to remove the salt crust that had built up.

Last night and tonight we made use of the ovens in the well appointed camp kitchen of this caravan park. Whilst I spent some time in this communal facility I got to talk to a few back packers and heard their stories of travelling the country on a shoestring budget.

The weather cleared up in the afternoon but we stayed put and concentrated on work and school work. I also managed to book in at a very busy caravan park at Point Samson near Karratha. In the evening we started packing up whatever we could so we can get on the road early in the morning and hopefully travel all the way to Onslow.

Swimming with Whale Sharks

We had to get up early today to meet our transport at 7:30 outside the caravan park. Together with 20 other people we were bussed to Tintabiddi beach where we boarded a little rubber ducky to take us to a 60 foot boat moored a little way out.

We were looked after by a crew of 4 young people plus a young lady skipper. Once we left the mooring they took us to a spot some way offshore, but still inside the reef, so we could get our snorkelling gear sorted out and have a good look at the reef as well.

Once everyone was back on board we steamed through north passage, a gap in the reef, into the Indian Ocean were we were greeted with a decent swell which made the boat really rock and roll. The spotter plane took to the air around 10am to see if there were any Whale Sharks around but couldn't find a single one. We steamed South expecting the big fish to show themselves but all we saw was Humpback Whales.

The whales were very impressive, blowing water out the top and moving gently in top layer of water. We saw mothers with their calves and one of them even did a breech just in front of our boat.

A sudden urgency arose amongst the crew and we knew a Whale Shark had been spotted. The skipper put the throttle down and made the boat go so we could get to the Whale Shark before it disappeared. Whale Sharks are the largest fish in the ocean and can dive to a depth of 1600mt. They come up and swim just below the surface but then dive down again and disappear into the dark depth of the Indian Ocean.

The second picture in this blog will give you an idea how far off shore these snorkelling activities took place - click on the picture to see the larger version and you'll see us snorkelling. My GPS log recording tells me we were 4km off shore.

The way this Whale Shark snorkelling works is quite impressive. The skipper manoeuvres the boat into position while 10 snorkelers are ready at the back of the boat. When the skipper is in the right spot the snorkelers jump of the back of the moving vessel and wait for the Whale Shark to come towards them. Once along the side of these wonderful creatures the snorkelers swim along with the big fish. There are strict rules about how long a group can swim with a Whale Shark. One must stay at lease 3mt clear at all times.

However, this particular Whale Shark, a young male, was very inquisitive and kept swimming in circles. As we entered the water I could not see the Whale Shark at all until one of the dive masters started waving his arms trying to tell me something. With the restricted vision of goggles there is no peripheral vision and I could only see straight ahead, but as I turned my head to right, I was looking the Whale Shark straight in the eye as it was just about to T-bone me, only a couple of meters away.

Just as well these animals are moving through the water very gently and gracefully. I certainly wasn't going to argue with a creature twice my size and more than 20 times my weight, so I got out of his way quick smart and then tried to swim along beside him but this young fella was very curious about us snorkelers and kept turning towards us. It was very hard to try and stay 3mt away from this Whale Shark.

This particular animal was 4-5mt long and was surrounded by about a dozen other fish travelling with him. Some Remora's, a Cobia and numerous other small species.

After a few minutes in the water with the Whale Shark we were back on board and really pumped - what a great experience. We went back into the water another two times and by the end of that most people where exhausted. Particularly after the last snorkel as the Whale Shark was moving in a straight line and, although his fins where hardly moving, at quite a speed where most people fell behind. With a bit of effort and some freestyle added to the fins I just managed to keep up with him. As an additional bonus we saw a turtle swimming below the Whale Shark.

To finish off the day pulled up back inside the reef (no swell) and had lunch before going for another snorkel on the reef. This time we swam with a turtle but only while she was going slow, once in top gear there is no way of keeping up with a Turtle.

There is not a lot known about Whale Sharks and they can't survive in captivity so all the study must be done in their natural habitat, the Ocean. All Whale Sharks have an individual pattern and anyone can email their photos to the researchers who identify the individual Whale Shark and then track their progress. Even the tourist boats take part in this research by logging each contact with length, photo and gender information.

We've had another great day in this fascinating underwater world they call the Ningaloo Reef.

Exmouth

Another day in paradise but unfortunately our stay in Cape Range National Park has come to an end. The first photo in this blog shows this great camp with Ningaloo Reef behind it and the Hammerhead wave on the horizon.

After arriving in Exmouth just after 9am the first job was to see if we could get onto one of the whale shark cruises - we were booked in by 9:30 and checked into the caravan park down the road by 10am. After camp setup we went to into town for some more shopping and upon our return started to get ready for fishing.

Today I purchased a netting license so we can use our cast net to get catch fish. I spent a little bit of time casting the net in the caravan park. Net casting is a bit of an art and I just couldn't master is until a fellow camper took pity and showed me how it's done. I think with a bit more practice I'll be able to manage.

Later in the afternoon we drove to the jetty next to the submarine communication station for a bit of fishing. Ilse and Alexander both caught a fish referred to as "Happy Moments" in reference to the immense pain induced by their numerous spikes. We took it easy getting these fish off the hook. Ilse put one of them back into the water, just under the jetty, so I could get the pliers. As she was standing there with her 25cm fish in the water, on the hook, something really big shot out of nowhere and grabbed the fish together with line hook and sinker.

Although we all caught something, Ilse was the only one to get a take-home sized Bream. We went to the fish cleaning table just after the sun went below the horizon. I have never seen so many mozzie as what we had at the fish cleaning table, thousands of them descended upon us and we I had to fillet really quick and get back in the car.

We had the Bream for dinner and once again had to listen to Ilse pointing out that she has caught the biggest fish this afternoon.

Here is today's travel map.

Turquoise Bay

We had another cloud covered sky this morning and the range to our East was shrouded in fog. However, by 10am the cloud had lifted and given way to a brilliant blue sky so we headed to Turquoise Bay for a drift snorkel. In this beautiful spot the coral reef starts just meters from the shoreline and is sometimes only a foot under the water surface.

Waves wash over the outer reef and dump large amounts of water which then escape through one or two gaps in the reef. This process causes a strong current in some parts, especially right on shore near the point where snorkelers are warned that they could get swept out.

The reef is a fascinating marine habitat created by many different types of coral which have grown to a very large size over many decades. The coral provide protection and food for many tropical fish of varying sizes. The largest we saw today was a 2mt Sand Shark, the smallest a bright blue Damsel fish barely and inch long.

Once a year, exactly 8 or 9 days after full moon in March, all coral spawn and release billions upon billions of eggs simultaneously. Lots of fish come in to feed on these eggs with the most spectacular being the Whale Shark and this area renewed as the best area in the world to study those animals. It was only last Friday that Ningaloo Reef was given world heritage status. Hopefully this will keep the oil & gas giants out of the park as they are already knocking on the door with test drilling and exploration.

Snorkelling these reefs is like swimming in an aquarium. I have done some scuba diving but I have never in my life seen an area so full of all kinds of marine life. One of the prettiest today was probably the Banner fish, best known for it's role as "Gill" in the movie Nemo - yes, we also saw Nemo and Dory. About 3mt under water all colours disappear and the world looks green & white but due to the shallow reef near the shore one can admire the tropical fish in their beautiful blue, yellow, red and pink outfits.

Apparently the coral spawning can go wrong when the wind blows the eggs into shore where they decompose and this process takes up so much oxygen that most other creatures, including coral, suffocate. Last time this occurred there were millions of dead fish washed up on the shore.

Right in shore, with water only shin high, we admired dozens of Dart hanging around people's feet and feeding on things in the sand which people stirred up. Garfish were also zooming around in the shallows and the odd Emperor could beed seen sitting in the sand.

Today I spotted a Telstra phone booth with a view (see photo) - one could easily spend hours in there and just admire the view.

The day concluded with a nice sunset over the Indian Ocean which we admired from a spot just behind the caravan. Looking out to see we can clearly see huge waves rising and rolling on the outer reef and we are reliably informed that this wave is one of the most famous surfing waves in the world referred to as "The Hammerhad" amongst surfers. There are a few people in our camp that are here just to surf this wave. They have a little tinny and when the wave is working get out there and surf this large thing way out there.

All in all it was another brilliant day and we have learnt lots of new things and seen a little bit more of this fascinating world that surrounds us.

Stormy Stuff

Last night was rather warm and we woke to find an overcast sky with stormy looking clouds visible in the distance. We debated if the rain would come to us and it wasn't too long until we could feel the fist rain drops.

In typical tropical fashion the temperature stayed over 20 DegC but the wind increased in strength as the storm clouds moved in. After a couple of showers the sun started to peek through but out to see we spotted a very black and nasty looking area which seemed to be heading our way.

I decided that we better roll up the awning as strong wind gusts have been known to rip awnings clean off caravans. As we were in the middle of packing it up, the storm hit with some ferocity. The strong wind made our job very difficult and unfortunately I bent one of the struts trying to rush things. Now the awning was, but no longer secure and the wind gust just kept coming. Alexander and Ilse were hanging onto one end each whilst I tried to secure it as best as I could. Meanwhile the rain was pelting down and moving horizontally. We were completely drenched in less than a minute but had to hang onto the awning.

I commenced assessing the problem, removing bits and bending them back into position while Alexander and Ilse hung onto the awning. By the time the storm passed and the rain stopped I had everything back in working order and we finally rolled up the awning.

One would think that being drenched by rain would be as good as a shower but unfortunately the rain was salt water, not as salty as sea water but very salty nevertheless. I'm not sure why, but I assume these tropical storms pick up water out at sea and then dump it on land.

The storm provided enough excitement for us this morning. After lunch we went for a drive to a number of nice snorkelling spots and checked out the other camp sites in the park. Turquoise Bay, the best known and most popular snorkelling spot is very pretty and well protected, even on a windy day like today but with the overcast conditions and the wind we decided to leave snorkelling for another day.

On the way back to our camp we spotted a rather large snake on the road and stopped the car so we could get a close look at the animal. I would estimate this snake was around 2.5mt long as it covered about half the road. I'm fairly sure this specimen was a black headed python and it seemed happy to have us around and posed nicely for the camera.

Back at the caravan Alexander and I went for an evening fish down to Yardie creek and admired the colours of the gorge as the sun went down. Looking to the west we were treated to a spectacular sunset with clouds over the Indian ocean and the streaks of cloud above us being bathed in deep red.

Having returned to the caravan without fish we had dinner and settled in for another warmish night with the tropical wind still blowing and keeping conditions quite pleasant, but a cloudless sky with a magnificent view of the milky way above us.

Yardie Creek

After a quiet night at Yardie Homestead we had a leisurely morning and a slow breakfast before departing around 9am. Our track took us just a few km's south to the entry station at Cape Range National Park. We checked in with the ranger and then proceeded another 46km South to the Yardie Creek camp site. The whole camp only has 8 bays, we are in bay #2.

These camps, like most in WA National Parks, have a Camp Host -

a volunteer who stays from April to September to make sure everything runs smoothly in the camp. There is no water here, not even bore water, none whatsoever. The closest fresh water source is in Exmouth about 80km away from this camp. We have brought 120lt of fresh water in our caravan tanks and it has to last for 3 nights.

The camp site is great with shade from trees on both sides, a very nice long drop toilet opposite and only 50mt walk to the beach. We are well inside Ningaloo Reef here and we can see the huge Indian ocean swell breaking some distance off shore where the reef meets the ocean. Although its a long way away we can clearly hear the the big waves breaking. On our beach the waves are only 20cm high and produce a soothing sound that has the same effect as sleeping pill.

The camp site is only 20mt away from Yardie gorge where people can take a little boat cruise up the Yardie river into the gorge. The river mouth is currently closed and 4WD's can drive down along the coast for some distance.

Our camp was set up and we were ready for action before 11am. Preparing fishing gear took up a bit of time but after lunch we hit the beach with our fishing rods to see what's out there. Alexander caught some type Threadfin but it wasn too small. I saw dozens of stingrays and we had a mid sized turtle going up and down the beach.

Just on sunset we tried our luck in the creek which has good fish habitat with mangroves on one side and deep rock ledges on the other. Alexander caught a couple of miniature Fingermark and I hooked an undersize Travelly.

Night time in this remote place is very different. There is no power, no television and no lights to pollute the night sky. No noises other than those produced by nature and the little waves up on the nearby beach - very peaceful indeed.

Here is the link to todays travel map.

Yardie Homestead

The nights have a certain tropical feel here in Coral Bay with nice balmy evenings. Early mornings are nice and fresh but no longer cold. In the morning we discovered that we were camped next to the same people as on Quobba station - not that surprising as they are travelling in the same direction!

We were leaving Coral Bay by 9:30 with the temperature already hovering above 20DegC. The drive to Exmouth was fairly uneventful, we passed Learmonth RAAF airbase and then the big prawn just outside Exmouth which reminded us of the King Prawn industry up here. Their main market is export to Japan and we heard on the radio that they are having a very good year catching about 3 time as many prawns as normal. Interestingly, the catch limits are not determined by weight of numbers but the Department of Fisheries monitors the size of prawns and use that information to determine when prawn fishing stops to prevent overfishing.

We were in Exmouth by 11am, stopped at the tourism info, and bumped into a couple from Bright which we had first met in Esperance a few weeks back.

The next stop was the shopping centre for some food and we also had to visit Brumbys - a Bakery franchise - which we remembered from our last trip as the sell very tasty Chocolate Croissants.

Other things on the shopping list were a new set of goggles for me and some sea booties for Alexander and me to wear with out fins. The obligatory visit to the local tackle shop resulted in some more lures for our collection and lost of advise from the friendly staff about the best fishing spots.

We also saw newspaper articles in shop windows about french backpackers that steal food from supermarkets in Carnarvon and other areas. Apparently word got around amongst the frogs (via Facebook) that the supermarkets are easy targets. They are not used to shoplifting in this area so this discovery made the news and talkback radio.

After refuelling the headed out of Exmouth to Cape Range National Park where I had booked us in for 3 nights, or so I thought. About 30km out of Exmouth is the entry station to the park which is always fully booked so very difficult to get a campsite. The nice lady at the entry station confirmed that she had us booked for 3 nights, but not until tomorrow! I double checked on the receipt and it clearly stated that our booking was for tomorrow - oops, minor miscalculation on my part, we arrived a day early!

A few km's back towards Exmouth is Yardie Homestead, a caravan park, and we had our caravan parked there by 3pm. We did a quick caravan setup and then drove Tantabiddi a short distance away where we spent the remainder of the afternoon on the beach. Alexander did a little bit of fishing but apart from one missed hookup and a lost lure he had nothing to report.

Yardie Homestead is an old farm where a lot of the farm infrastructure has been converted to accommodation and a sizeable caravan park has been created around it. Lots of people seem to be here with their boats and at the fish cleaning tables we see quite sizeable catches. The freshwater is limited only for drinking as it is made by reverse osmosis from the local bore. Salty bore water is used for anything other than drinking water. Bore water is also very soft and it's really hard to get soaped under the shower. In typical station fashion the power is from a generator and therefore limited - no zircon, microwave, kettle or toaster to be used otherwise the circuit breaker will pop.

Here is the link to todays travel map.

Paradise Beach

Considering we are in the tropics, this morning was unusually fresh but as soon as the sun was up it got warm and we were grateful for the wind which made for a pleasant day, even out in the sun.

Ilse did some washing in the morning and then we set off on foot to Paradise Beach (photo) on the southern side of Coral Bay. After a short walk through the sand dunes we arrived at the turquoise waters and commenced our favourite activity.

Today we tried different fish attractors, the boys worked soft plastic lures while the girls used bait. We had plenty of strikes on the plastic but the fish weren't interested in bait. Alexander landed a Spangled Emperor and I got a Long Tom, both went back to be caught another day.

We lost a number of plastics today as some fish completely swallowed the plastic and then just bit clear through the line - not sure what the were, but they certainly had sharp teeth.

After a late lunch we went back to the other end of Paradise Beach near the boat harbour but had no luck with fishing (wrong) so the kids went snorkelling instead. The reef is barely 20mt into water and there were plenty of fish to see, just none that wanted to be caught.

We returned from the beach just before sunset to start packing up as this is our last night in Coral Bay. Tomorrow we will move north, past Exmouth and into Cape Range National Park - the heart of Ningaloo Reef.

The camp sites at Cape Range have no water, no power and no phone reception. We are planning to stay there for 3 nights so we won't update this blog until we're back in civilisation.

Coral Bay

Another night where we listened to the heavy pounding of waves on the shore only a hundred meters away for our caravan. As night falls the noise seems to be getting louder and the sound is a bit like continuos rolling thunder. After 3 nights of it I have to admit that one has to get used to this sort of noise.

We had a reasonably early start and got on the road before 9am but had to stop at the blow holes to take video of the gigantic waves with 3.5mt swell today.

The track took us back down south to within 30km of Carnarvon but then north again on highway #1 until we reached the Minilya River where we refuelled at the Minilya River Bridge Roadhouse. A short distance after the roadhouse we left hwy #1 to drive up north towards Exmouth.

We stopped to take a photo as we officially entered the tropics when we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (ToC). The ToC is currently located 23Deg 26min South of the equator and marks the most southerly point at which the sun can appear directly overhead. Although this point is slowly moving northwards, at a rate of 15mt per year, the sign was still in exactly the same spot where we saw it two years ago. I guess they just can't be bothered shifting it every year!

The first sign that we had arrived in tropics were the termite mounts on the side of the road. Mind you, with the temperature sitting at 26 DegC in the middle of winter we could easily confirm that we really had reached the tropics.

A bit further along the road we turned left to head for Coral Bay, a small place which has nothing but two caravan parks and other tourist accommodation and the infrastructure to support the tourists. Coral Bay is located on the southern tip of Ningaloo reef and has a spectacular beach only a short walk away from our caravan.

We spent the afternoon snorkelling on the reef which is only 50mt off the beach in well protected and sheltered water, no waves whatsoever. The marine life is very impressive with large Spangled Emperors and various Stingrays frolicking just under our noses (goggles). The reef corals afford protection to many colourful little reef fish which are a pleasure to watch.

For a bit of a change in diet, we're not having fish tonight but frozen food that we brought with us. Our dessert today was especially nice with fresh Carnarvon Bananas (ripened on the tree not by gas) with ice cream and homemade Mango topping also from Carnarvon.

Here is the link to today's travel map.

Back to Carnarvon

Alexander had the Alarm set for 6AM so we could fish at High Rock as the sun was coming up. All went to plan and we were casting lures into the reef from High Rock at the appointed hour but today's swell was much larger then yesterday's with large splashes of water reaching 10mt+ above the top of High Rock - what a sight and what an enormous display of power.

I now understand why some people talk about converting Wave-Power to electricity. We only stayed for an hour admiring the big waves and casting lures but eventually got the lure caught in the reef deep below and had to break the line.

The only thing we caught was a fish the same size as the lure. This fish was accidentally speared by one of the big hooks. As you can see from the photo, another one of those colourful tropical species.

Back to the caravan for a quick breakfast and then into the car for the 80km trip to Carnarvon to get our tyres sorted out. Driving along the coast we could see the waves continuously splashing a long way over the top of the rocks. No wonder there are memorial plaques for dead fishermen at every single fishing spot.

There wasn't a huge range of tyres to choose from in Carnarvon but I decided to upgrade to a more solid Light Truck rated tyre, which unfortunately is a little bit larger my current tyres. That means I have to put on 4 new tyres plus get a couple older (but also larger) ones for spares.

Whilst I sat at the tyre place working on the laptop and updating the blog, Ilse went across the road for a little bit more food shopping as we wan't come near another supermarket for a little while now.

With the new tyres fitted we drove out the Small Boat Harbour so Ilse could buy some fresh King Prawns. The rest of us got chinese takeaway. After refuelling the car we spoiled ourselves to another delicious Mango smoothie at one of the local farms before heading back to Quobba station where we arrived around 3pm.

The reminder of the afternoon was spent exploring more of the station's coastline to the north of the homestead. About 24km from the station is Cape Cuvier where the wreck of the Korean Star rests deep down. To get there we crossed a couple of Mine Hauling roads where they transport the salt, which is mined at Lake McLeod, to the loading facility and jetty at Cape Cuvier.

We didn't have enough time to go all the way to Red Bluff but next time we come over here we must go there and stay at Gnarloo station which is a fair distance north from Quabba station.

All roads out here are made of dirt and have corrugations. There are no signs on the roads or the turnoffs and no roads showing on the GPS. We have instructions (from the station) like "first turn left after the 2 mile mill" - that would be the windmill 2 miles from the homestead. The only other navigation aid here are station fences, so we go north to 4th fence line.

The station owner, Tim, flies a gyrocopter (single person, open cockpit kind of helicopter). His airstrip is still waterlogged so he takes off from the road or any other flat ground he can find. He also taxis his gyrocopter on the roads used by the cars.

We spent some more time admiring the huge swell crashing into the shoreline and rising up to shower the area on top of the rocks. Standing downwind

of one of those meant we received a continuos shower of fine saltwater droplets. One of the locations had a 10mt waterfall running continuously from a large pool at the top of the rock which gets refilled regularly by the waves.

I can not find words that adequately describe what we have seen here but we have some of this action on video which has hopefully captured the power and dynamics of this enormous force which is continuously pounding the coastline in this part of the world.

Fishing at Quabba

We got up early, left just on sunrise to drive to a nearby location called High Rock to watch other fishermen balloon fishing - that's where they use a helium filled balloon above their bait (Garfish) to keep it bobbing in and out of the water. Large fish such as Mackerel rise up from below and leap out of the water as they smash the Garfish - Exciting stuff!

However, on the track out we had the misfortune to cut a tyre side wall on a sharp rock. My morning exercise was a tyre change on a sandy track!

We arrived at High Rock about half an hour late and walked out to the fishermen, four blokes from farms south of Perth. They have been coming to Quobba for over twenty years and caught a fish or two during their visits. The fishermen were very social and taught us a lot about balloon fishing.

We stayed with them for a good 3 hours and watched in amazement as they hooked 1mt+ Mackerel, fought them a fair way in only to have a sizeable shark take the whole Mackerel. Once the shark was on the hook it put enormous load on the line, nearly pulling the fisherman off the rocks until the rig finally broke. Out of all the hookups they had today only one Mackerel made it onto the ledge and then, with the aid of a 10mt gaff, into their hands. What a big fish, well over 1mt in length, very heavy and very exciting to catch.

Ilse saw a big shark swimming in the water below High Rock and they told us yesterday a couple of sharks got their Mackerel by leaping up on the rock ledge! The sharks here are plentiful and bad news for the fishermen. The largest shark spotted in this area is estimated to measure 24ft (8mt). It has been seen numerous times by different people and is believed to be a Tiger shark.

We returned to the Homestead and I was lucky enough to find someone to put my extra tyre on the rim with the damaged tyre so I've still got a usable spare.

By the time we had lunch and a little rest it was after 1pm when we drove a bit further north and walked down to a rock pool for some of our own fishing, albeit not quite as exciting as what we've watched this morning.

Ilse and the kids caught heaps of fish around the 20cm mark, mainly Moon Wrasse's and Black Spot Sergeants, right in the little pool where the water movement wasn't too bad. I tried for bigger fish a bit further out where the water was surging in and out with great speed and force. I caught one good size Surge Wrasse (see photo) which is probably the prettiest fish I have every caught in my life. The fish we catch here are all tropical species which seem to be more suited to an aquarium with their pretty colours and patterns.

After a fun afternoon at our very own private fishing spot we returned to the caravan and when I caught up with the fishermen from this morning they handed me a bag with fresh Mackerel fillet. Once again, we're eating fresh fish for tea, albeit caught by someone else.

As it turns out we could have kept my 40cm Surge Wrasse, its not a protected species and the book tells me it's very good eating - anyway, it was too pretty to kill.

A few days ago we bought the "Field Guide to Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-East Asia", a book published by the W.A. Museum, as the fish identification book we brought with us from the east is totally inadequate over here. At least now we have a much better idea what we're catching and wether it's any good to eat.

By the time we finished dinner, transferred photos to the laptop, geotagged them, identified the fish we caught and written our blogs it was pretty late and time for bed.

Quobba Station

After an early breakfast we made our way to the Carnarvon Growers Market with the expectation to see a lot of fruit and veg but, as with most markets in tourist area's, there were lots of stalls selling dust collectors and other girly things and only 4 stalls with fruit and veg. However, those 4 had very nice stuff at great prices. We even found banana's at $6 a kilo.

After the shopping we went back to the caravan park, hitched up, and left Carnarvon by 9:30. About 30km north of Carnarvon we left the main road and took the turnoff to Quobba. After 50km we reached the end of the bitumen and a further 8km along the dirt road we arrived at Quobba Station.

The camp sites are well spread out with at least 100mt between us an the next site. Our site is less than 100mt away from the Indian Ocean and the noise from the waves pounding the rocks and beach is quite loud - but there is no other noise out here. The station homestead is about 200mt away from us. We have a powered site but the station generator only runs 2hrs int he morning, 2hrs at lunch and 5 hrs at night. Power is also limited, so we can't use the microwave or kettle.

Although we have a tap on our site, it's only saline bore water which we can't use for drinking or cooking. There is no phone or TV reception but we can get ABC radio on the AM band. The dirt road that leads further north from the homestead is frequented by numerous travellers but there is no camping here until one gets to Ganarloo station.

Our first walk down to the beach, just in front of the caravan, immediately impressed us with the huge ocean swell coming in onto the beach and rocks. The shoreline is fairly steep around here so the swell rises up into a huge wave and then smashes down on whatever gets in it's way. We have been warned that on every rock fishing spot in this area people have lost their live. The very first, large sign when we reached the ocean (on the road) said "King Waves Kill".

We took the car for a bit of exploring along the coast line and checked out the famous Blow Holes, a spot where a rock overhang has been washed out beneath to form a cavity which has a 500mm diameter round hole in the top. As the big swell rolls in and covers the cavity entrance the air inside escapes though this hole at the top with an enormous amount of pressure and the matching noise. The escaping air contains small water droplets which gives it the appearance of steam. After the air is through the hole and water fills the cavity it then also escapes causing an enormous water fountain which reaches over 20mt into the air and can be seen a couple of kilometres away.

After watching this spectacular display of nature's raw and brute force for a while we checked out the nearby campground which was stacked full, due to the $5 per night price tag.

There are some nice fishing beaches along here but there is also a Fish Habitat Protection Area (FHPA) where fishing is forbidden. We saw someone catch an Estuary Cod and I'm told this place is full of all fish species.

A couple of fellows staying at the the homestead have already bagged 22 Spanish Mackrel, all fished from the shore by spinning a metal lure at a great rate of knots.

Alexander and I went to a fishing spot called High Rock - probably the most spectacular fishing spot I have seen in my life. Perched on steep cliff some 20mt above the water's surface with very, very deep water. There is also a plaque reminding us that 3 people have died fishing this particular spot.

We pulled in at another spot and just admired the force of the incoming swell which today is reported as 2mt high. With the steep shore line the 2mt swell doesn't break but rises up out of nowhere when reaches the shore and changes the water level by 10-15mt in many areas. It is certainly impressive to look at an area which 10mt above the water one moment and totally swamped the next. Falling into this boiling broth of saltwater would be very ugly indeed.

Some of the fishermen today told me that, although they have caught Mackrel, they haven't landed a single one due to sharks taking their catch before they can land it. The place certainly exhibits many facets of mother nature's raw power.

Tonight while I'm sitting in the caravan enjoying the peaceful environment, the sound of the enormous swell crashing into the shore appears to be very loud - and there is no wind to speak off. I wonder what this place is like when a howling gail gets behind that big swell or when a cyclone really whips up the sea.

Here is the link to today's travel map.

Fishing at One Mile

The weather is certainly a bit on the cold side with overnight temps still down to 10 or 12 DegC, but the days are very pleasant with 24DegC. My first task today was to see the Novus man so he can drill another hole in my windscreen to prevent a crack from travelling any further. Next stop was the car wash to give the car a quick clean.

There I was approached by a traveller from Argentina who's car wasn't working after he hit the engine with the high pressure washer. I took him to a 2 mechanics and an auto electrician but the best he could get was advise on what to do - everyone seemed to be booked out until next week Wednesday. I ended up dropping him back to his car so he could let it dry out and hopefully start it later today.

I also had to call in at the tackle shop for some

more fishing advice and some more lures to catch BIG fish with. Back at the caravan we decided to go fishing in the afternoon but first we visited a local fruit farm and enjoyed a Mango smoothie, chocolate coated coated frozen banana and home made pineapple ice cream - very nice. Fruit and vegetable around here are just great, all ripened fully on the plant and very tasty.

We drove over the Gascoyne river which normally runs underground but is currently flowing above ground. The sand on either side of the bridge is piled up over 2mt high - I assume this is all the sand washed down in the recent floods. This area is not made for rain - they had 20mm on Tuesday and there are still huge puddles of water lying everywhere.

The recent rain has also brought out the sandflies and they seem to love me - I have the love-bites to proof it!

For fishing we drove to one mile jetty and took the little train out to the end where we commenced our activities. Rumpole of the Bailey coined the expression "She who must be obeyed" but in our family the expression "She who catches all the fish" is more suitable. Needless to say, she was at it again and caught quite a number of fish while I got one - mind you, mine was larger. By 4:30 PM we had dinner in the bag with 5 Bream to take home. Many more were caught but they were too small. Alexander caught a very interesting fish called a Common Dart - very pretty with huge fins. You never know what you pull out of the water up here, they have sharks cruising around and even get whales to come in and scratch themselves on the jetty. We got back to the car on the little train, filleted the fish at the caravan park and ate them for dinner barely 2 hours after they were caught. Even Andrea liked the taste of the fresh Bream.

Tonight is our last night at Carnarvon as we're moving to Quobba Station tomorrow morning. I'm not sure about reception at Quobba, but I expect we'll be out of reach until probably Wednesday night when get to Coral Bay.

Carnarvon

First up today I reported the missing travellers from yesterday to the caravan park and they in turn alerted police that a couple had gone missing is probably in or near their broken down car.

About an hour later we got a phone call back that they were safe and sound at Monkey Mia where indeed their car had broken down.

The morning was very humid with water settling on every surface outside - it reminded me a little bit of Darwin. We got on the road by 9:30 to backtrack south to the Overlander roadhouse where we got back onto the main highway to travel north until we reached Carnarvon, the fuit and veg capital of W.A. if not the whole of Australia.

We saw road crews working to fix up roads around Carnarvon that were damaged in the recent floods. The whole area looks very green and tropical with lots of palm trees around the place.

Unfortunately our caravan site didn't give us enough room so we had to ask for a different site which they were only too happy to provide. This caravan park in the middle of town is quite novel with grass on all sites - that's very rare in this part of the country.

After lunch we went out exploring around town and to see their main attraction the One Mile Jetty, a very long jetty indeed. So long in fact that they have built a tramway to take people and goods out to the end, at least it used to when it was operational. The reason for the long jetty is the flat angle of the beaches around here.

We dropped Ilse off at the supermarket for some shopping and continued onto the local tackle shop to get the good oil on local fishing, and a get a few more essential fishing bits.

With shopping done we returned back to the caravan to enjoy last nights' whiting and garfish which turned out excellent. No night fishing tonight, I need a good rest!

Here is the link to today's travel map.

Monkey Mia

Last night was fairly wet with rain falling for most of the night. The morning weather reports on the radio were all about the cold start to the day. Apparently Newman (long way inland) experienced frost on the footy oval. Denham was rather mild with 14 DegC in the morning.

After a quick breakfast we were in the car heading for Monkey Mia (25km) to see the Dolphins. By the time we arrived the first feeding was over and we had to hang around waiting for the marine mammals to return.

The weather this morning was a bit overcast but as the morning went on the sun broke through and finally, after a long wait and a couple of false alarms, the Dolphins were back to please the crowd. There is a 30min time limit on the interaction and while the animals cruise up and down to check out the crowd a presenter and identifies each individual to the crowd and gives a history of the animal. Eventually, the buckets get dragged through the water and the Dolphins know the food is nigh and they line up next to the bucket. At Monkey Mia they only feed the same five individuals every day regardless of how many turn up. Today there were 3 of the ones that get fed and probably another 5 individuals just hanging around.

A few spectators are picked to hand the feed (a dead fish) to the Dolphin. The amount each animal gets is accurately recorded and monitored to ensure they receive a maximum of 1.5kg each per day which is about one tenth of their total food intake, so they don't forget how to hunt and survive without humans.

On the way back to Denham we stopped to offer assistance to a car with open bonnet on the side of the road but luckily they could drive on and we followed them just in case. Back in Denham, into the bakery for some fresh bread and then into the caravan for lunch.

The afternoon was spent on a 50km stretch of coastline south of Denham exploring lookouts and beaches. At Eagle Bluff we ran into the couple with the car problems from this morning and they told us their internet research on the car fault led them to believe that the car battery is not being charged.

When we returned back tonight we noticed that they were still out and about. After dinner Alexander and I went fishing to the town jetty and caught our first squid, some more garfish and two nice whiting. By the time we had finished filleting and returned back to the caravan park it was nearly midnight but there was still no sign of the people with the broken car. I decided to report the missing couple first thing tomorrow morning.

Ocean Park

This morning we had a little bit of sunshine but it soon change to overcast but warm conditions. There were a few drizzles during the day but that didn't matter as we spent time at the Caravan before a short shopping trip into town.

Having caught three large fish in Kalbarri, Ilse decided to reward herself with a shopping trip to the Blue Lagoon pearl shop in Denham - she's been dreaming about this since our 2009 visit to the Blue Lagoon pearl farm near Monkey Mia. This farm is one of two in Australia where they grow black pearls which are actually quite nice.

With the food and pearl shopping completed we had our lunch and then drove a few km's south for a visit to Ocean Park, a facility which has a number of tanks and large ponds where they keep lots of local fish species and various other marine creatures. They have a few sharks which get fed once an hour but the sharks often loose out to the Tailor which are a lot faster and ferocious feeders. It was very interesting to see the squid change colour as the tour guide got him excited.

Some of the species, e.g. Mulloway, were quite large measuring 100cm or more.

During our visit to Ocean Park the rain started to set in and by the time we returned to Denham it was well and truly raining, not strong but steady. The advantage of the rain is that the wind has stopped. It's still quite warm but the locals seem to be very cold.

The tide today is very high with the water level just under the walkway and little waves bringing water up over the top of the jetty. The locals tell me that it's not the high tide that's causing this but the low pressure system which allows the water level in the bay to rise.

The low for tonight is forecast to be on 9 DegC - I think the locals will be frozen stiff in the morning and will be wearing jumpers all day with only 20 DegC forecast.

Denham

We had a big brekky to start the day as our reminder that today is a public holiday at home.

Another morning chat with some of the friendly campers and it was well after 10am when we drove out of Hamlin Station. The drive to Denham is quite scenic in parts with great views over turquoise beaches such as the famous Shell Beach.

By lunchtime we arrived in Denham and checked into the same caravan park as last trip. We got a site on the top level with great views over the water (see photo). During our last visit in 2009 we can recall a big travel bus being parked on this level and, low and behold, in the same spot we again saw a similar bus. Turns out, this couple from Apollo Bay in Victoria spend 3 mth a year, every year, in this very spot.

Our neighbours have also just started their 3mth stay at Denham. It looks like there's a few regulars in this park.

After caravan setup and lunch we went to the tourist information to find out about boat travel to Steep Point but the downturn in tourism has forced both operators to close their business. One of the fishing charters is also out of action due to maintenance work but should be operational later in the week. However, there are strong winds forecast in the next few days so boating may be off the agenda.

The pearl shop was next on the hitless and the boss had a bit of a browse but, luckily, didn't find anything suitable. We returned back to base and while Alexander got stuck into school work the rest of us went for a walk on the beach and the girls collected more shells.

After dinner I investigated the fishing prospects at the local jetties and found that most people were jigging for squid. Since there were quite a few garfish around I decided to try my luck and duly caught a couple of them before the third one broke my line. Now that I know how to catch them I might be back for more tomorrow.

Here is the link to today's travel map.

Hamlin Station

Another slow start to the day but at least there were no fish to fillet this morning. We left Kalbarri at 9:30 and headed over towards Highway #1, some 60kms east through Kalbarri National Park.

Heading north we stopped at Billabong road house to get food out of the caravan and filled up at the Overlander road house before pulling into Hamlin Station. All up we travelled about 250km today and were at our destination at lunchtime.

Hamlin Station is a working farming enterprise with camping facilities run by a couple who are travellers from Tasmania. A few facts about this station:

- It covers over 500,000

- Last year they mustered and sheared 10,000 Merino's.

- There 4000 sheep of another breed (not Merino's).

- Thousands of wild goat are harvested every year.

- 23 windmills supply water for stock.

- The "Mill Run" to check all windmills is around 300km.

- In summer they do two mill runs a week in winter only one.

- Food is ordered by fax from Geraldton (300km) and delivered every Tuesday.

The camp sites have no power or water but there is tank water available in the camp kitchen. The remainder of the property has bore water which is rather salty and emerges from a artesian bore with 30psi at 35DegC.

The station utilises the water pressure to drive a 2kW turbine which generates electricity to charge batteries. The battery power is then converted to mains by and inverter.

The camp kitchen is very nice and was converted from the old shearer's kitchen and the shearer's quarters have also been updated to guest accommodation. The tourist season starts in May and goes all the way through to November when the shearers come in, with their own cook, and work for around 6 to 8 weeks.

However, the shearing shed seems like it's a hundred years old and hasn't seen any improvements in a long time.

In the afternoon we went to the old telegraph station, the shell stone quarry and the Stromatolites. The shell stone is unique to this area and consists of billions of little shells bound together by the leached out calcium. The stone was cut into blocks in the quarry and used for building. It has excellent insulation properties and is comparable with Hebel blocks.

The Stromatolites consist of cynobacteria and are credited with generating the earth's oxygen thereby forming the foundation of life as we know it. They are still surviving in this area because of the high salt levels in Shark Bay.

Tonight's cooking (more of Ilse's fish) was done in the camp kitchen which is great place for social interaction with other travellers and that's where we picked up a lot of information from travellers on their way south.

Here is the link to today's travel map.

Gorgeous Gorges

After last nights fishing excitement the kids slept in this morning and I didn't get to work until 8:30 in the morning. Writing the blog, doing the photos and then finally filleting the fish, all 5 of them.

This time Ilse came along to stand next to me at the Fish filleting table so she could keep an eye on me and make sure I didn't tell any passers-by that they were my fish.

By the time the fish were cleaned we gave away some of the fillets it was time for a quick lunch and then off to Murchison River Gorge. We also took an elderly lady from the caravan park with us as she was on her own travelling in her motor home for 10 month every year - at the proud age of 80!

Murchison River Gorge is about 30km from Kalbarri, 25 of which on a dirt road with the typical fine red dust which is slowly starting to spread throughout the car.

The first spot was a lookout with spectacular views over the Murchison river down below - see photo 1. Another 1.5km we found a feature called "Nature's Window" where a rock formation provides a window with a great view of the river below - see photo 2.

We walked about 2 km but were short on water to do the 8km loop walk which would have been very nice. Although today was only 23 DegC it was very dry and once out of the wind rather warm. 1.5lt of water between the 4 of us was definitely not enough for this walk. There were sign all over the place warning of dehydration - I assume this is a common problem out here with so many visitors and many of them ill-prepared.

Another 12km on a dirty track and we arrived at the "Z-Bend" (photo), well almost, we had to walk a bit over one km to get there and back but the views were well worth the effort.

On our way back we stopped on the side of the road to check out these peculiar trees with white things hanging on the them. Some storage looking seed-pod which starts life white and ends up black once opened. We haven't worked out what they are but they look very pretty

Back on the bitumen we were flagged down by the side of the road where a young couple, which we met earlier, had broken down with their car. We gave the young lady a lift back into town where she had phone reception so she could call the RAC (WA version of RACV/NRMA) and get a tow truck organised. From my limited understanding of cars I gather that the corrugations on dirt tracks have caused some damage to the suspension in the car (a Saab) and now the wheel was rubbing on the chassis.

Back in Kalbarri we immediately started the caravan pickup process and then cooked our dinner. Last night' fish tasted great and Ilse like the Mulloway but I really prefer the Bream, a very nice tasting fish.

At 7pm ALexander and I went back to the jetty to see if we could match Ilse's fishing success but to no avail. Word of our success must have gotten around as tonight the jetty was full of fisherman. There were only two fish of size caught not the jetty for the whole night, but unfortunately not by us. We went home empty handed commenting that it's time for us to move on.

Tomorrow we'll travel to Hamlin Pool Telegraph station (south of Denham) and we may be out of phone range until we get to Denham on Monday.

If you want to see where we are look at this link to our live travel progress (updated every 10 minutes)

3 Fish for Ilse

The day kicked off very lazy, I filleted last nights catch which always attracts attention as the filleting table is located in prominent spot at the caravan park and everyone walking past wants to know where and how the fish was caught. With all the talking it takes about an hour to fillet a fish.

WA is currently experiencing a real cold snap with daytime temperatures in Broome only 26DegC (instead 30DegC). Here at Kalbarri the temps are in the low twenties during the day and low teens during the night.

After fish cleaning and a quick trip to the shops it was time to do some maintenance on our fishing gear, mainly sharpening of the filleting knifes.
In the afternoon we hired a little tinny and went up the Murchison river for couple of hours which got us one 33cm Sea Mullet. However, the Sea Mullet was not caught on a hook but scooped up from the surface. He was well alive and made a number of escapes but after a little bit of chasing he was too tiered. I'm not sure what was wrong with him to spend so much time on the surface, but the expression "stunned Mullet" comes to mind.

Back on land we read in the fish book that Sea Mullet isn't considered a good table fish, but I filleted him anyway. Tonights dinner, consisting of yesterday's Mulloway (or Jew Fish) and the Sea Mullet, was enjoyed by everyone and the Sea Mullet tasted quite nice, probably because it was fresh.

After dinner, with most of the evening chores done, we decided to do some night fishing at the Kalbarri jetty and this time the girls came along too.
This time with River Prawn as bait, Ilse's reel started to scream almost immediately as a very substantial fish made a run. It took 3 of us to land this fish which, in typical Mulloway fashion, made lots of big runs. With a length of 65cm this was the biggest fish so far on this trip.

Not wanting to be outdone by the rest of the Family, Ilse had got another big one within 20 minutes and just to make sure, she hooked a third fish which gave a really good fight. Lots of long runs and constant high load on the rod which bending 180Deg as the fish went under the jetty. The rod was handed from Ilse to Alexander and then onto me. This was the biggest and heaviest fish of the day, being marginally larger but much fatter than the first.

Catching them was the easy part, but if you look at the photo you can see how disgusted Ilse was with having to put her hand into the cut throat of a Fish - that's all part of being a successful fisherwoman!

Alexander and I caught a Bream each. We ended up giving one big Mulloway to another fisherman who wasn't quite as lucky and took the remaining fish home. By 10pm we were back at the caravan with the night's catch and if Ilse keeps this up we'll have to get a bigger fridge!

Principality of Hutt River

Today we left Australian soil to visit an independent sovereign state called "Principality of Hutt River" or PHR for short.

Just in case you, like me, have never heard of this place, it is located on the Australian continent, about 600km north of Perth and consists of 18,500 acres of land. If you think this is a joke look it up on Wikipedia under this link

or check out the official PHR website

The first photo on this page shows the main street of the PHR capital Nain.

Here is the executive summary as to why this place exists:

In 1969 a [very smart] farmer had a dispute with the government about wheat production quotas, he duly declared his property an independent province and some time later a principality.

Although this sounds very simple, if you read the story on Wikipedia you soon realise that this bloke has outsmarted the government and tax office numerous times and has beaten them in their own game - Bureaucracy.

What HRH Prince Leonard has achieved is every bush lawyers dream. At one stage, when the Tax Office was instructed to break him he declared war on Australia (and got laughed at) but 3 days later declared that hostilities had seized and the war was over. The ramification of this step was that under the Geneva convention the government in possession of the land at the end of the war is the undisputed owner of the land regardless of wether the warring governments officially recognise each other. Since Australia is a signatory to the Geneva convention the government had no choice but to abide by it and therefor PHR was outside the Tax Office's jurisdiction.

On arrival in the principality we were greeted by Prince Arthur Wayne Casley, Duke of Nain and Earl of Tabor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He showed us through the government office and permitted us to visit the shearing shed where shearers were busy taking the wool of some 700 sheep.

The kids certainly enjoyed holding and petting the lamb and learning what the different piles of wool were.

After leaving PHR we called in at a couple lookouts with spectacular views of the indian ocean. From our vantage points we observed a pod of Dolphins, many fish and a Dugong cruising up the coast.

The afternoon was spent back at the town jetty with some family fishing. Although there weren't any big fish, one Black Bream was landed but at 23cm is still 2cm short of minimum size. Plenty of small Tailor were caught and we kept some for live bait but by nightfall they were dead bait.

After receiving some advise from another fisherman on the jetty we decided to try some night fishing. Around 8pm we went back to the jetty to see if we could hook a Mulloway. We started using our self caught dead bait, then caught some more little ones and put them on as live bait but couldn't attract any fish whatsoever.

After changing over to Mulies, a popular WA baitfish, we immediately had hits and soon managed to land 3 Mulloway but all under size at less than 40cm. After removing the running sinker and fishing unweighted Mulies we finally landed a 60cm take-home Mulloway. First fish I ever caught on a ganged hook.

It was nearly midnight by the time we returned to the caravan and fell into bed.

Kalbarri

Another fresh morning prevented us from leaving too early but we were on the road by 9:30 and heading north from Geraldton.

The landscape is looking great as the area has received a fair bit of rain before we arrived. The farmers are out on their tractors seeding and spraying and the Banskias show fresh flowers.

The drive to Kalbarri took us via a little town called North Hampton and then onto a very scenic road along the coast. Half way between Northhampton and Kalbarri we passed the Pink Lake which appeared very pink, almost orange.

This lake is certainly much more pink than the one we saw outside Esperance.

The pink colour occurs when salt dependant algae 'blooms' and produces beta carotene. This substance is a sought after product in the health industry and that's why a lucrative aquaculture has developed around the harvesting of this crop. A beta carotene factory is located on the lake shore.

We arrived at Kalbarri before lunch, set up of caravan and immediately noticed the warmer climate in this region. We worked up a sweat setting up the awning in the lunch time "heat". After lunch the kids and I headed off for a reconnoissance mission around town. We quickly located the local tackle shop, got some bait and advice and then checked out Chinaman's Beach, the spot for catching big fish. A quick visit to the boat hire place to fins out how we can get on the water and then onto the main jetty for some fishing. The little fish were very hungry and the kids caught dozens of them, but the larger fish could not be tempted.

We went back to the caravan for a little bit of food and drink before heading out to Chinamans beach to fish the sunset period in the hope of catching something of edible size. The sunset was very pretty to watch but the big fish still couldn't find our bait so we came home empty handed. Good think we're here for a few more days to have another go or two.

Here is the link to today's travel map.

Final Day at Geraldton

The morning was very fresh but not a cloud in the sky. I spent the morning over text books to revise for the exam. The kids did some school work, spent time on the playground and went for a walk on the beach just outside the caravan park.

After lunch we drove to the Geraldton University Centre where I commenced my exam at 1pm. The rest of the family went to the supermarket to replenish supplies.

The exam was all done by 3:15pm and the family rewarded me with a Custard-Almond-Scroll when they came to pick me up. This delicious scroll was a very welcome sugar boost after all this hard exam work.

I think I did quite well in the exam as they asked all the right questions, the ones that I had studied!

After all this exam and learning stress over the last few days I was ready for some retail therapy - bloke's style - at BCF! (That's Boating-Camping-Fishing for non Australian readers)

The Geraldton BCF store is huge and has a very big fishing section. Most of the fishing gear is many sizes bigger than what we're used to. I have never before seen a soft plastic lure that's a foot long!

We actually went into BCF to get a fishing rod for Andrea but, after seeing all those shiny bits I suddenly found a lot of stuff that will improve my catch rate. All we need to do now is find some fish and make sure they also know that we've got all this gear!

Our last activity in Geraldton was fuelling up at the only Safeway Servo within a few hundred km's. This is the place which all travellers seek out to refill their Jerry Can's and various other fuel containers. Some of the things we observed would horrify any OH&S conscious person.

Now that we have spent a few days in Geraldton I have to say that it's just another town with all the typical town problems of vandalism, theft and other issues that arise wherever there is a high concentration of people. I much prefer the smaller, out-of-the-way places which don't have the services and shops but also don't suffer the associated problems.

Back at the caravan we started the packing process to cut down on work required tomorrow morning. The caravan park in Kalbarri is booked and the temperature there is little bit warmer than Geraldton.

Foundation Day

Today was a public holiday in WA - Foundation Day - which mark the date in 1829 when Captain Stirling landed at Swan Bay and brought the first European settlers to WA. Although the state has been visited many times before by Dutch and French sailors, it was the British that settled the area.

Listening to the local radio talkback I get the distinct impression many of the Westies would prefer WA to be a separate country, that way they could keep all their income from the mining industry. I'm not entering into any arguments over this issue as Easties are certainly a minority over here.

We had another lazy day today with a late breakfast followed by some fishing gear preparation and a bit of study. We went back to Bativia Marina for the afternoon's fishing activity. The little Porcupine fish were still there and we tried to catch as many as possible and put them in a bucket where they release their poison and kill themselves (they are a pest species).

This time Andrea also gave it try and caught many little fish to her great delight. Once she got into fishing there was no stopping her and now it looks like we may have to buy her a fishing rod.

In amongst all the Porcupines both kids caught some Bream but they were too small for dinner.

We were back at the caravan park just on sunset with both kids hungry and tired and worn out from fishing.

Lazy Sunday at Geraldton

The day commenced with the traditional Sunday brekky of Baked Beans on Toast with Bacon and Eggs whilst listening to Macca on the local ABC radio station.

Most of the morning was filled with study work for me and the kids while Ilse caught up on some housework (caravanwork?). After lunch we took our fishing gear and headed to the Greenough River Mouth to look for some Flathead. My Fishing Almanac said today was very good, particularly around the time we went. However, it appears no one told the Fish! Apart from the lack of fish we were also annoyed by the petrol heads with their motor bikes and 4WD's on this part of the beach. I don't quite understand the fascination with driving on the beach - it isn't that special and it certainly doesn't require great skill or equipment.

After we had enough of the noisy buggers we drove back into Geralton to find Batavia Marina which is supposed to be a good fishing spot. This Marina is next to the Geraldton Museum and is home to many very expensive and large watercraft. However, there is also a public jetty in this man made waterway and thats where we tried our luck.

Those pesky little Porkupine fish were plentiful but Alexander hooked a Snook or Pike, unfortunately not eating size. With a little bit of patience Alexander managed to land some Porcipine fish and gave them to other kids on the jetty. By the time we went home he had caught some 20 Porcupine fish which made for great all-round entertainment amongst the kids.

The other achievement of the day was Ilse catching her first fish - a Porcupine fish. You may have to zoom in on the photo to actually see the fish, but nevertheless, it was her first fish. Looking at the grin on her face I reckon she's now hooked (pardon the pun) on fishing.

By the end of the day were all tired again and ready for more adventures tomorrow.

Exploring Geraldton

Today's activity was to explore the city of Geraldton. Although we've been here on our last trip, we really didn't have much time in Geraldton.

The first stop was the Saturday Farmers Market for some fresh vegetables and then onto the supermarket and a couple of other shops. With the shopping out of the way we drove out to Fishermans Wharf which is the base for some 100 Lobster Boats, Fishing Trawlers and Fishing Co-op.

Unfortunately the weather was a bit drizzly (contrary to the forecast) but that didn't stop us from getting around.

From a good vantage point we watched the "De Ping Hai", a large Asian bulk carrier, steam into port. A very interesting process with a couple of powerful tugs meeting the ship out in the channel, attaching ropes, and then pull it around a fairly tight bend (500-700mt radius) to follow the channel into port.

Geraldton Port houses big grain handling facilities, with huge storage where 100s of 1000's of tonnes are kept under cover before being shipped off-shore.

With a population of 37,000 Geraldton is similar in size to Wodonga but the smaller shops and shopping centres show that they don't have much population in the surrounding area.

After a quick lunch in the CBD we perched ourselves just on the other side of the port facilities and watched another large ship, the "CSL Thevenard", being manoeuvred into position by the tugs. This a very slow process which takes well over an hour just to turn the ship 90Deg and then push it sideways on the berth.

This long weekend Geraldton is populated by lots of holiday makers from Perth. They have Bowling Golfing Tournaments on but unfortunately, after a long draught, the start to weekend was fairly wet.

A quick drive along the foreshore, a stop at Separation Point (see photo), then south onto the Greenough River Mouth where we could drive the car all the way onto the sand between the river and the sea.

Back at the caravan park we enjoyed some more rain pattering on the roof of the caravan whilst the kids did some school work and I studied for upcoming exam.

Geraldton

The whole family had a bit of a sleep-in this morning - it was 9:30 by the time we drove out of the caravan park. As we went past the fishing fleet moored off the foreshore in Cervantes we remembered that the other attraction of the area is Rock Lobster. The onshore plant processes the Rock Lobster and exports predominately to Japan where this product fetches a premium price.

We continued along the Indian Ocean Drive which was only recently sealed between Cervantes and Gerladton. Tomorrow is the start of a long weekend in WA (Founders Day) and a lot of people from Perth are on the move North. That's why we encountered a large number of slow (90km/h) caravaners - I think fuel efficiency is the reason for their slow speed.

We made a brief de-watering stop in Dongara and visited the Bakery before moving onto Geraldton were we arrived around lunch time. We drove through Geraldton to the northern outskirts where we checked into Sunset Beach caravan park. This park is right on the Indian Ocean, just behind a sand dune. The temperature today was 22DegC and we are in shorts and T-Shirt - I think we have finally left the colder weather behind us, I haven't been in long trousers since we left Esperance and the weather forecast is 20-25 every day.

By the time we had our caravan set up with awning and table outside and had our lunch it was early afternoon and I spent some time with my uni text books to get ready for next week's exam.

I did ring up to find out about fishing charters but there are none available out of Geraldton - looks like we have to find our own spot and have a go.

Link to today's travel map